


Warmth

by tbat



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, GOTTA LET IT OUT GOTTA LET IT OUT, and the shipper within loses control, the darkness of night falls around my fluff, the worst fluff of all time, this is absolutely just sickening filth honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 18:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15395271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbat/pseuds/tbat
Summary: During a trip to Tantal, Pyra has ideas about how to keep Rex warm. Unfortunately, barriers stand in her way.





	Warmth

Having a Titan as a surrogate grandparent was an unusual situation, but one that came with a few advantages. The first, and one that Rex had exploited approximately once per week for the past five years, was that if you found yourself with front-row seats to an exciting Old Man Lecture, you could just walk away from it, and there wasn't much Azurda could do about it. Following after him wasn't exactly an option without the Micronation of Azurda accidentally declaring war on Argentum.

The second main advantage was far simpler: free travel. Rex had been struck with a far-too-late reverence for this unsung hero of a perk every time he'd had to foot the bill for the entire party's boarding tickets. Plus, there was the wasted manhours spent arguing that Azurda and Dromarch counted as pets and as such didn't need tickets.

"If it glows, it ain't a pet" had started to become a new Salvager's Code rule to him by the end of their journey.

Luckily for Rex's wallet, however, Azurda had regained his fully-grown form, and was generously providing both him and Pyra with a first-class flight to Genbu, to pay Zeke and Pandoria a visit. In-flight snacks had not been provided by Azurda Airlines. Management had instead allowed Pyra to include a large bag's worth of ingredients with the rest of her luggage.

Pyra sat in front of the small cooking fire on the center of Azurda's back, carefully gathering up the unused ingredients from their meal, and returning them to the bag. What she would do with them, she hadn't really decided yet. They probably wouldn't stay fresh long enough for the return trip, and neither her nor Rex really wanted to try and tackle  _eating_ what remained right now.

Maybe the innkeeper at Anastatia's would let her use their kitchen later, she hoped. That way, nothing would go to waste. Then again, whenever inns had allowed Pyra access to their kitchen, she often wasn't able to leave without being bombarded with requests to become their permanent chef, usually loudly and well within earshot of the current chef.

For five hundred years, Pyra had assumed people hated and feared her and Mythra for their destructive powers as an Aegis. As it turns out, they mostly hated her for her ability to devastate their job security.

Having safely stored the leftovers away, Pyra ducked under the small canopy set up at the base of Azurda's neck to rejoin Rex. It was a rather flimsy bit of shelter, considerably less comfortable than the already pretty meagre home he'd used to have on Azurda's back. The day Azurda had regenerated into his smaller form, Rex had lost both his old house and most of his wardrobe, and he'd never fully recovered from either loss. The canopy was all he'd bothered to restore, insisting that there wasn't enough money to build anything more substantial.

The washing line was originally going to be part of his very low-cost restoration effort, right up until Azurda had said "Now Rex, it's not right to show a lady your drawers drying," and Rex had disassembled the single pole he'd set up in shame. As such, Rex remained under the canopy with Pyra, with nothing but prepacked, prewashed clothes, and no way to dry them out in an emergency.

She found him squatting in front of his bags, rummaging through his clothes for something. Setting her bag of leftovers next to the rest of her luggage, she crouched down next to her Driver, placing a hand on his shoulder as a greeting. Rex turned his head towards the sudden sensation and flashed her a smile, which she quickly returned.

A moment later, he brought his attention back towards the bag, pushing aside another pile of neatly folded clothes in his search.

**"** You did pack it, didn't you?" she asked, watching Rex's chaotic unfolding of all his clothes unfold.

"Pretty sure I did, yeah. Just can't seem to find it...Oh, there we go!" Rex said triumphantly, fishing his prize out from the bottom of the bag, sending most of the clothes sat above it spilling out onto the ground. Flopping backwards into a sitting position, Rex set the coveted clothing on his lap, then scooped up all the scattered garments and gracefully stuffed them back into the bag as a single ball of fabric.

His task done as sloppily as he could manage, Rex lifted his newly salvaged treasure up to inspect it.

"I'm surprised Mythra let me borrow this, y'know," he said, fiddling with the fabric. Pyra nodded in agreement.

"Me too. But...well, she didn't have to be so rude about it."

"I dunno, she didn't seem  _that_ bad."

"She...said she'd kill you if you damaged it."

"See? She could've said she'd do it  _slowly,"_ he said with a beam.

Despite feeling like Rex was skimming over the fairly obvious problem with this logic, Pyra couldn't help beaming back at him. There was just something about his complete inability to watch Thunderstorm Mythra loom over his head and  _not_ find a paper-thin silver lining that she found endlessly endearing. Plus, whenever he smiled like that at her, she was struck with the sensation that he may actually be the cutest thing in Alrest and that he was in  _urgent_ need of a hug.

This was perhaps a little too intense a swelling of love for a boy who wasn't actually doing anything other than holding up a light red sweater that was clearly a few sizes too large for him, gazing at it like it was a priceless artefact. Nonetheless, Pyra strongly felt he was being too cute to ignore it.

Contrary to her dire threats over the matter, the truth was that Mythra didn't even have much use for the sweater clutched in Rex's hands. Corrine had originally made it as a gift for Pyra, who had to very sheepishly explain that she wasn't actually sure what "being cold" was amidst a flurry of apologies, and as such it wouldn't do her any good. In the name of Not Letting It Go To Waste, the sweater had passed into Mythra's care.

Mythra could easily have explained that her properties as a Light Blade included the generation of heat, and as such she also didn't need it, but she didn't feel like it and just shoved it in her closet. It was only upon Rex and Pyra visiting Tantal- and Mythra's refusal to go- that it finally found its day in the spotlight, when Rex had decided he didn't want to spend any money on himself and should just use a sweater they already had lying around. Mythra had easily agreed, but threw the threat in to maintain her image. And so, Rex had saved himself money whilst neglecting to remember that clothing came in sizes.

His appraisal complete, Rex stood up, then brought it against his chest to check the length. The air was starting to get colder as they approached Genbu, so Rex figured it was as good a time as any to test out his new defense against the icy wastes. The hem of the sweater gently brushed against him, somewhere below his knees. A small laugh slipped out of Pyra's lips, followed by a quiet "sorry." Rex blushed slightly, glaring at the low-hanging top.

"Okay, it's a  _little_ big for me," he said defensively, "But it's gonna keep me warm, so it works out pretty well." He slipped the sweater over his head, pulling it down over his body. The results were slightly better than expected, with the sweater only reaching his knees, rather than drooping further past them. The extra size meant it hung somewhat loosely around his shoulders, but the sheer volume of excess fabric seemed to bunch up and fold around him, insultating him even more than if he'd purchased something that actually fit.

Rex hummed in approval, both at the very slight rescuing of his dignity, and the immediate results of donning the clothing.

"Wow, this is great! It's really cozy!" he exclaimed, patting the sweater as if rewarding it for a job well done. He glanced at Pyra, pre-emptively grabbing the hem of the sweater to pull it upwards. "You wanna try it on?"

She shook her head.

"No, I'll be fine without it. I'm a Fire Blade, remember?"

Rex smiled in understanding at her, although she could see a small hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Yeah, you're right. That's a shame. It, um...would've looked really good on you," he said, his sentence's volume winding down to a barely audible mumble the longer he spoke. The words had started tumbling out of his mouth without him registering it was happening until it was too late. The small flush of red on his cheeks from earlier intensified. Pyra's face, not wanting to be left out, hurried to join his in leaping towards the crimson end of the colour spectrum.

"Um...t-thank you, Rex. It's...It looks nice on you, too" she replied quietly, avoiding his gaze. This was easily accomplished, since his gaze was currently preoccupied with the middle-distance in a very Pyra-less direction.

The pair sat in embarassed silence for the short remainder of the trip. Every now and then, Pyra would glance towards Rex, frowning in thought, trying to parse out a strange feeling of unease lurking in the back of her mind.

Or, more specifically, she would glance at his sweater. She was sure it was nothing. Which didn't explain why it felt like  _something._

* * *

"You gonna be alright on your own, Gramps?" Rex asked, hoisting his last piece of luggage off the Titan's back and onto the ground of Genbu's harbor.

"I'll be fine, my lad. You think I'm not used to a bit of time on my own? I'm even older than her, you know," Azurda replied.

"You...don't have to put it like that," Pyra murmured, shifting uncomfortably and tightening her grip on her luggage.

"Yeah, aren't you always telling me stuff like 'Rex, don't ask a lady her age?'" Rex added reproachfully. Azurda let out a throaty chuckle in response.

"Just my little joke, Rex. You two have fun on your honeymoon, now," he said, merrily lobbing a hand grenade into the conversation just as he was exiting it. The damage was dealt instantly, with both victims immediately devolving into stuttering denial.

"G-Gramps!" Rex eventually managed to yelp out in protest.

"A-Azurda, it's...we're just visiting, we're no-"

"I know, I know," he said with another laugh, "Now run along before one of you has a heart attack."

The pair sighed in unison before grabbing their belongings and heading towards the gates of Theosoir, blushing profusely all the while. Rex briefly considered smashing his face into the snow to force it to cool down. Pyra also thought about this, but came to the sad conclusion that she'd probably just make the snow melt. One of the minor inconvieniences of her nature as a Fire Blade was that she was one of the few people who had to walk around Genbu with an umbrella.

Their arrival transpired fairly uneventfully, with the two of them taking a slow walk through the city together. They'd made their way towards Anastatia's to check in, drop off their luggage, and enjoy a short rest before their scheduled meeting with Tantal's eternally embarassing Prince, Zeke "Disaster Zone" Von Genbu.

It was, overall, quite a pleasant experience for the both of them. A chance to spend time together, on their own, without any nefarious third wheels disrupting the romantic ambience by reminding them that there was romantic ambience and making everything uncomfortable. A perfect day together.

Except for that persistent nagging sensation prodding at Pyra every step of the way, telling her she ought to feel disappointed in  _something._  She'd tried to stay focused and not let it affect her conversations with Rex, but she couldn't help feeling incredibly distracted. The feeling seemed to flare up whenever she looked at Rex's sweater, a strange sense of  _wrongness_ that mixed together with her feelings of genuine happiness at how comfortable he seemed to be to create a rather confused emotional state.

It had taken her until they were leaving Anastatia's for it to finally fall into place.

It really  _was_ the sweater. Or, to be more precise, what the sweater was  _doing._

It was keeping Rex warm.

This was, on the face of it, a good thing. A warm Rex was a happy Rex, and Pyra generally regarded Rex as deserving of happiness. Rex being warm was fine. It had taken a lot of internal probing for her to figure out what  _wasn't_ fine.

_She_ wasnt the one keeping him warm.

She realized this was incredibly petty. And pointless. It had been a miracle Rex hadn't come down with something serious when they'd first been to Genbu, and he had confidently strode around in a shoulderless top and shorts the entire time.  _How_ he kept himself warm shouldn't matter, so long as his clothes weren't the equivalent of waving a sign reading "PLEASE GIVE PNEUMONIA TO PNEUMA'S DRIVER." She knew this.

But there was something so much more  _personal_ about doing it herself. She wanted to take matters into her own hands and  _be_ the source of warmth, clutching him in her arms and acting as an unusually affectionate radiator. Huddling together for warmth was  _classic romance_ , and Pyra could deliver considerably more heat than most. It was a golden opportunity.

Besides, the mental image of Rex clinging tightly onto her, face flushed red with adoration and toastiness, had set up shop in her head, and was refusing to leave until she made it a reality. Regardless of its practicality, considering Rex would only remain warm for as long as they held each other, Pyra thought it would be  _nice._ Rex needed to be slowly cooked by cuddles. He just  _needed to be._

Unfortunately, there were  _barriers_ between her and this rather pleasant scenario. Wooly, cozy barriers. She snuck a glance at Rex as they walked to Theosoir Palace, lost in silent thought. Thankfully, Rex was talking, so it passed for Listening Intently, even if her mind was currently filing his voice into the low-priority pile.

How could she make this happen?

She  _could_ just ask him if he wanted to try it. That'd be the simplest and most direct method.

It would also be incredibly embarassing. She didn't have the nerve to  _ask._ Something about asking him "do you want to take off your clothes so I can hug you instead?" was flustering her on levels she didn't know she could even reach, regardless of how innocuous the question actually was. The direct method was not an option.

This left a surprise attack as her best option. If she waited until he took the sweater off on his own, then moved in for a hug,  _cunningly disguised_ as a simple display of affection, he'd find out on his own that she could keep him warm, and they'd sort of stumble into making it a regular arrangement. All the benefits with none of the discomfort. Perfect.

The only problem being that Rex had already vocalized his intentions to "never take this off" until they left Tantal. It was, apparently, just that comfortable. While Pyra was aware there were some  _specific_ times where Rex would have no choice but to remove the sweater, she also couldn't think about those times for longer than around five seconds without needing a lie down. There were no  _acceptable_ times of day where Rex would be sweaterless.

Her brow creased in frustration. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just barely see Rex looking at her with a concerned expression, but her mind didn't really register it.

She just couldn't see a way around this, no matter how much she thought about it, her mind racing towards each possibility and summarily dismissing it. Maybe-  _maybe-_ he'd suddenly discover it was actually kind of itchy, and  _that's when she'd swoop in_ , but then again, he'd been wearing it for hours now and he hadn't complained about it yet, so that seemed unlikely,  _but what if_ he takes it off when he eats to make sure he doesn't stain i-

"Chum! Pyra! A pleasure to see you!" shouted a familiar voice, redirecting her train of thought straight off a cliff. Zeke pushed himself off from the wall he had been leaning against, taking long, purposeful strides towards the two of them. Pandoria, stationed at the opposite wall, followed suit, trying to match the length of his strides. She largely failed and ran the risk of pulling some leg muscles in the process. As one, they bowed deeply while leaning slightly to the side, their arms gesturing towards Theosoir Palace's gates.

"Hey, guys. Been a while, huh?" Rex greeted, grinning at the posing pair.

"...Hello, Zeke, Pandoria," Pyra said quietly, her face putting some heavy lifting in to force a smile onto her mouth. It quickly ran out of steam and allowed her to droop back down to the Pondering Frown she'd been locked into since they'd left the inn. Zeke's eyebrow briefly quirked upwards at her before he turned his attention back to Rex.

"I really must thank you for agreeing to come on such short notice, chum," he said, patting Rex on the shoulder, "But, well, it was an  _urgent_ summons. We  _needed you_."

"Yeah, uh...what for? Your letter just said 'come to Tantal as quickly as you can for a week or so,' and that was it. Oh, and you wrote your signature over half the page, too," Rex said.

"The Zekenator is larger than life, as is his handwriting," Zeke replied in the solemn tones of a paladin reciting a sworn oath. Pandoria stepped forward to actually answer the question in her Driver's place.

"The King's got a bunch of ambassadors from the other Titans here for meetings.  _Summits._ Important stuff, kind of thing that needs royal attention, y'know?" she said, tossing a meaningful glance in Zeke's direction. He effortlessly ducked underneath the meaning and tagged in to continue the explanation.

"All the nations are here, chum, except, rather notably, Leftheria. From what I've gathered, it's rather common not to invite them, in fact. So, not only did we choose to invite  _you,_ as the new ambassadors of the Archipelago, I even offered to attend to you  _personally,_ a one-to-one meeting between national representatives," Zeke said, bringing himself up to his full height to properly bask in his deserved praise as a master diplomat.

"...Ambassadors?" Pyra said in confusion, doing her best to focus on the conversation.

"Uh, Zeke? That's...flattering, but I dunno if we really count. I mean, we're not  _politcians,_ we're just-"

"Nonsense, nonsense! Who better to represent Leftheria than the hero of Alrest himself, and his beloved Aegis!"

"But we're not-"

**"** Rex, don't worry about it," Pandoria interrupted, "You're not  _really_ ambassadors. My Prince is just  _pretending_ you guys're ambassadors so we can goof off with you instead of showing up to the summit. You're just here to have fun with us, not, y'know,  _do_ anything."

"That's...a relief?" Rex said slowly, uncertain if this level of deceit about his friends' political positions was worth letting Zeke get out of a few boring meetings.

"Now, Pandy, don't sell me short here. Entertaining foreign emissaries is a  _crucial_ element of the diplomatic process."

"Uh-huh. How're we entertaining them?"

Zeke placed his hand on his chin, putting on a show of being Deep In Thought.

"Hm. A meal, perhaps? Your treat, of course, Aegis. You'll have free reign of the kitchen."

"Zeke, c'mon. You're not supposed to make your guest cook for you," Rex said with a frown. "Besides, we're both tired. Pyra deserves a break, okay?"

"Oh, please, I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to test out a palace's kitchen. The  _frying pans of royalty_ , ripe for the taking. Why, she'll hardly be able to resist! What do you say, Pyra?" he said, turning to her with an inviting grin. It faltered slightly when he took a closer look at her. Pyra's eyes had a somewhat distant, worried dullness to them, as though she'd stepped into another world and discovered she'd tracked mud on its carpet. She jolted slightly at his voice, her mind half-tumbling back into reality at the sound of her name. Zeke gave her a probing look.

"O-oh! Um...don't worry, Rex, I...I'll cook. I don't mind," she said, stumbling over half the sentence.

As she spoke, Zeke nudged Pandoria, leaning down to whisper something in her ear. After exchanging a few more whispers with her Driver, Pandoria nodded in understanding.

"Are you sure? I just...don't want you pushing yourself too hard, y'know?" Rex said. His hand reached towards her own and grabbed hold, fingers quickly wrapping between hers. He gave her hand a brief squeeze, eyes looking into hers with concern. Her dimmed eyes briefly lit back up with their usual gentle warmth as she squeezed back.

"No, I'll be fine, Rex. But..." she said, a smile forming on her lips, "Thank you."

"Alright. If you're sure, then."

Despite his reputation for being oblivious, Rex was actually quite sensitive to Pyra's mood, and could pretty easily tell when something was bothering her, even if he wasn't sure  _what_ that something was. Not that this instance had been particularly subtle, with her frowning and barely holding conversations for half the day. He'd quickly noticed, but had assumed she was just tired after their journey and needed some rest.

Cooking could be a difficult, draining task, even for someone as passionate about it as Pyra. Zeke trying to angle his way into getting a free Pyra Meal didn't sit right with him, not when Pyra clearly wasn't feeling great. Still, it was her decision. It's not like he could stop her. Gently, he let go of her hand.

Zeke clapped his hands together in triumph, delighted that he'd scored an Aegis Appetizer on day one of their visit.

"Excellent! Come, Aegis, I shall escort you to the kitchen!" he said with a flourish, his arm unfolding towards the palace gates.

"And  _you..._ " Pandoria chirped, her own arm stretching out in a mirror of Zeke's as she winked at Rex, "...come with me! We gotta find a room to hang out in."

Rex and Pyra began following after their respective escorts. As their paths began to diverge, Rex looked back and gave Pyra a brief wave with an affectionate smile. Her face flushed a light red as she waved back at him, until eventually he rounded a corner and disappeared from her sight.

Pyra walked behind Zeke quietly for a few minutes as he effortlessly navigated the faintly glowing corridors of the massive palace. She was a little surprised they hadn't reached the kitchen yet, really. She hoped whoever had to deliver the food to the dining hall was allowed to eat a few snacks. It'd help keep their energy up for the arduous journey.

After some time, she heard his voice cut through the silence.

"You seem troubled, Aegis."

"Huh?"

Skidding to a half in front of her, Zeke turned to face her with a serious expression. Or, what Zeke regarded as a serious expression. This required him to adopt an interpretation of a straight face where his lips became unnaturally horizontal, neutral beyond what a reasonable human's could be.

"No need to hide it, Pyra. My Eye of Shining Empathy saw your face as we spoke- it was the face of a woman tortured by her inner demons!"

"...You have a Eye of Shining Empathy?"

"Indeed!" Zeke replied, hand already flicking into place in front of his exposed eye to give the explanation the necessary gravitas. "The Eye of Shining Empathy can detect any emotional distress, provided I can maintain eye contact! Unlike the Eye of Shining Justice, I leave it exposed, for a true Prince must always keep a caring eye upon his countrymen!"

"Oh, my. That's...very impressive," Pyra said, completely believing every word. Her susceptibility to Zeke had increased exponentially ever since she had become seperated from Mythra, and as such had lost her running, abusive commentary on everything Zeke said or did.

"That it is. A power too great for most mortal men to handle, but  _Zeke Von Genbu_ has tamed it! And today, it tells me that you are in need of a helping hand! Come, share your burden with the Zekenator, Bringer of Comfort!"

"W-well, I...I mean, it's not  _really_ a problem, I'm just-" Pyra babbled.

"Don't be shy, Aegis! Your Driver, he sets your heart aflutter...and yet, those wings of love waver, they threaten to send you crashing into the sea of sorrow itself! Tell me...why has my chum set you on this course?" he said, arms stretching out to offer a comforting hug.

Pyra chose to leave him hanging as she tried to explain herself.

"It's not anything Rex  _did,_ Zeke!"

Zeke's arms flopped to his sides in dismay, a momentary pout on his face. Most women, and indeed many men, would've paid good money to be held in The Zekenator's powerful, yet gentle embrace. But here she was, spurning the comfort of a dear friend. Outrageous.

He reasoned that Pyra simply prefered her hugging partners to be fun-sized, to soothe his ego's newly swelling bruise. Nonetheless, he forged on, suffering for his art. For his friend.

"But it  _is_ about my chum, isn't it?"

"Well..." Pyra's sentence trailed off, but accidentally packed far more meaning into a single word than she'd wanted to.

"Go on. I'm listening.  _Intently,"_ Zeke said, cupping an ear and leaning towards her.

"It's...going to sound a little silly."

"Hm. As much as the Zekenator prefers to keep things deadly serious, I will allow it."

Pyra took a deep breath and clenched her fists, mustering up her strength. Anyone standing behind her would have noticed lines of ether coursing across her back from the mental effort.

"Well, it's...you saw his sweater, right?"

"That was a sweater? I thought my chum was trying out a very wooly dress. I must say, that hue of red matches quite nicely with you, Pyra. He chose well."

"It's Mythra's, actually. It's a little too big for him, that's all."

A person with any sense of decency would not have laughed at this, or at least attempted a token stifle. Zeke Ven Genbu was not a man to trifle with common courtesy if it wouldn't do him the courtesy of having as much fun as possible, so he laughed. Loudly. Palace guards several corridors away shivered in fear, mistaking the echoing cackle bouncing their way to be that of an oddly theatrical ghost.

"I hope you didn't tell him he'd grow into it, Aegis. Lying is the quickest way to ruin a relationship, after all."

"That's...not it," Pyra said with a defensive frown. Rex's height seemed to be an endless source of amusement to everyone else, and she genuinely didn't understand why. It was  _cute._

"If that's not it, then what? Throw the Zekenator a bone here, Pyra."

Pyra sighed. A keen awareness that what she was about to say sounded incredibly clingy and overbearing washed over her, leaving her ankle-deep in confused shame. Still, now that Zeke was prodding at the problem, there was really no avoiding it. He'd just keep asking her the entire time she was cooking, and he'd steal a bunch of eggs and crack them over random pots while yelling " _I've_ cracked the Eggs of Truth, Aegis, now it's  _your_ turn to crack them," until he accidentally touched one of the hot pans and burnt himself, and Pyra didn't really want him to hurt himself. Best to do it now, in safety.

"It's..." she began shakily. Despite accepting her fate, Pyra still found it difficult to face it with conviction. "He's wearing the sweater to stay warm. And, well, I'm...a Fire Blade."

Zeke's Eye of Shining Empathy roared into action, lighting up with power so intense it seemed to change the colour of his pupils. Only the keenest observer would have noticed that Zeke had quietly slid his contact lense off to reveal his eye's natural red colouration.

"Say no more, Pyra. Say. No. More. I understand  _everything_ now," he said, pivoting rapidily on the spot to stand sideways to her, rather than straight on. His right hand flicked backwards to simulate a dramatic wind blowing his coattails, while the left made a crashlanding on his hip to complete the pose. A Monologue was brewing.

Pyra pre-emptively blushed.

"A Blade whose body burns as red as her hair, a body whose boiling heat is matched only by her  _passion_ for her Driver! In the harsh winter climes of Tantal, he dons a warming garment to fight off the icy hand of Sickness itself! And yet...she laments."

Zeke paused to grin at his distraught audience, to gauge the response. Incandescently red face, quivering body, mouth flapping open and shut, occassionally managing a squeak of embarassment. Things were perfectly in order.

"Why, she wonders, does he rely on something so impersonal as  _clothing,_ when  _she_ could be his shield against Tantal's biting cold! Kept safe by the warmth of her love  _and_ her arms! Moved to tears by her selfless act of kindness, by the sacrifice of her body for his own wellbeing, the love within him grows ever deeper! As his eyes shimmer with adoration, he melts in her tender embrace, and..."

Zeke trailed off for a moment, head lowering in thought. He grunted in frustration.

"Drat. Can't think of a good closing line. Can we try this again later, Aegis? I've not been at my best today."

Pyra silently gawked at him, utterly awestruck by the power of the Eye of Shining Empathy. In but an instant, he had exposed every thought she'd had in the past four hours  _and_ given them a jazzy makeover with about six-hundred percent more ham acting. She couldn't even muster the strength to deny any of it. Instead, she simply nodded in confirmation.

Zeke gave her a knowing smirk, shifting seamlessly into a considerably more smug pose, leaning sideways onto the wall with a single shoulder.

"And now, of course, we come to the Zekenator's role in this tragic romance. You need my help, don't you?"

"I...suppose so. I don't want to  _ask_ him-"

"Of course not. Romance thrives on spontanaeity. To ask is to remove the surprise," Zeke interrupted, nodding sagely. Pyra chose not to inform Zeke that she only wanted to avoid asking on the off-chance that Rex felt her thought process of "I need him to be cold again so  _I_ can keep him warm" was weird, rather than to follow the letter of Zeke Von Genbu's Laws of Love.

"I just...need him to take it off. At some point."

"I see. I see," Zeke said. He stroked his chin, for the look of it. "...You do know he'll have to remove it when he takes a ba-"

"Zeke! T-that's...I couldn't-!" Pyra attempted to properly object before settling for some murmuring and a concentrated effort not to think about the subject matter too hard. Zeke frowned as he remembered who he was dealing with. And, indeed, who the person he was dealing with was trying to deal with.

"Hm. You're quite right. We'll have to rethink this."

Zeke fell silent, the stroking of his chin slowing as he fully devoted himself to the conundrum at hand. Pyra shuffled on the spot from an uncomfortable mixture of embarassment and impatience. She was eager to hear his idea, both because it might help, and so she could get this rather mortifying examination of her feelings over with. The sudden sound of snapping fingers brought the silence to an end. Zeke's grin widened, his eye flashing with inspiration.

"I've a plan, Aegis. Quite the devious one, if I do say so myself. Elegant in its simplicity, you might say."

Pyra sighed, her body coming to a relaxed halt.

"What is it?"

Zeke's grin couldn't spread much further across his face without causing some serious strain to his muscles. Nonetheless, he took them to the limits of their endurance.

"Oh, you'll see, dear Pyra. But first, to the kitchen. We must be dining before I can set the wheels of fate in motion."

Zeke kicked his leg off the wall and sprung into a standing position, pretending his mighty foot had propelled him forwards. With another wave of his arm, he beckoned Pyra to follow him once again. She trailed behind her newfound ally, excited but apprehensive.

* * *

"Unbelievable! Denying the Prince of Tantal entry to his own kitchen!" Zeke pouted, slamming his crossed arms onto the table. Pyra barely caught her glass as it threatened to tip over the edge from the impact. A few of their fellow customers glanced towards the table currently occupied by a tantruming royal and his snickering Blade. Sensing their gazes, Rex turned to the room at large and gave it an apologetic smile, awkwardly scratching his head. Pyra's face matched his, though she omitted the head-scratch.

"Guess they're too busy with all those bigwigs the King's got over, huh? We probably shoulda thought of that first," Pandoria said with a light shrug.

"At least there was still some space at Anastatia's," Pyra said.

"Yeah, the food here's fine, anyway. Plus, Pyra's not gotta push herself," Rex added.

"Rex, I told you. I'll be fine."

"I know, I know. I just...don't want you getting hurt..." he said, his face flushing a faint red.

"Rex...Thank you," Pyra murmured, resisting the urge to scoop him up in an embrace then and there. She may not know  _what_ it was, but Zeke had a  _plan_ and she intended to stick to it. No hugs until that sweater was on the ground and off her Driver. Her fate rested in the fingerless-gloved hands of the Bringer of Chaos.

She turned back to the arbiter of her destiny, slumped forwards and drumming his fingers on the table. And, perched precariously next to him, a massive pail of water. A bright pink silly straw bended and twisted its way out of the top, which he was sullenly slurping from.

Traditionally, one would ask for their beverage in a glass or cup of some description, on the basis that they weren't going to try and drink their entire body weight in liquid. Well, Rex had told her that some salvagers took that as something of a challenge, but  _most_ people were content with a cup. A mug, at best. Mugs could get on the large side.

Zeke had seen the large side and found it lacking. He'd  _demanded_  that they fetch the cleanest bucket the inn had available and to fill it to the brim with ice-cold water. This was an accurate description of most water in Tantal, so the last leg of the request had been pretty easy to fulfill. They still charged him quadruple the normal price for the trouble.

"Aw c'mon, my Prince, this actually works out pretty well," Pandoria said, prodding Zeke in the arm and giving him light static shocks in an attempt to knock him out of his sulk, "We take the ambassadors of Leftheria to a traditional Tantalese restaurant, we can tell the King we were just giving them a taste of the culture. Y'know, literally. Makes us look like we know what we're doing."

"...But, we're staying here. We came here for our lunch, actually," Pyra said in the innocent tones of someone who ruins all attempts at deceit by just being  _too nice_ for it. Pandoria shot her a glare.

"Sure you did. With us. Your gracious hosts."

"I-I see."

Pyra chose not to argue the point. If anyone asked, she'd let Rex handle the lying. He was almost as awful at lying as her, but he was exactly one rung higher on the Successful Deception ladder than her, so he was their best shot.

The clattering of a chair rang out across the room as Zeke rose to his feet, clutching his pail of Tantal's finest water with what Pyra noted was a slightly loose grip. He lumbered past Pandoria with slow, deliberate movements, as if he wanted everyone to see  _exactly_ where his feet were landing with every step

"One moment, chaps, I'm just away to get a few glaciers' worth of ice for my drink, won't be lo-WHOA!" Just as Zeke came level with Rex's chair he tumbled forwards with a loud yelp. The seemingly endless contents of the pail splashed directly onto Rex, soaking him utterly. A large puddle began to slowly pool around him as he jerked out of his chair, crouching down next to Zeke.

"Z-Zeke, are you alright!? What happened?!"

"Oh no, my Prince, you aren't hurt, aren't you," Pandoria said woodenly, refusing to award Zeke's amazingly obvious deliberate pratfall with a proper performance.

Zeke rose to his feet, non-chalantly dusting off his coat as though nothing had happened, and also to slyly check if he'd gotten the back of it wet. He didn't want to have to sit on wet fabric all night.

"Perfectly fine, everyone! Just a stroke of the old Zekenator luck it would seem. But what about you?" he said, gesturing towards Rex and his drenched sweater. "You're soaked to the bone, chum! I'd change out of that, if I were you. Right away." Just as he had drowned Rex in a river's worth of water, Zeke chose to dunk the words "right away" in a downright suspicous amount of emphasis.

"I, uh...yeah," Rex said, examining the soggy mess he had become from the neck down. "You're right. I'll be right back, guys."

He hopped off his chair, heading towards the stairs that led to the inn's bedrooms. As soon as he'd left the room, Zeke gave Pyra a nod and a brief thumbs up.

"The rest is up to you, Aegis. Make us proud."

"Yeah, don't let my Prince have a wet ass for nothing."

"Hush, Pandy, you're ruining the atmosphere."

Pyra stared at her co-conspirator in awe, completely amazed that such a simple plan had worked so  _perfectly._ She had never even considered  _forcing_ him out of the sweater. People- Mythra, especially- could say what they liked about Zeke. To Pyra, in this moment, he was a genius. Her eyes shone with newfound hope, her head bowing in gratitude to her saviour. She leapt out of her chair and scrambled towards the stairs, hoping to catch Rex before he left their room.

* * *

Despite her haste, Pyra opened the bedroom door slowly and gently. She didn't want to alert Rex by suddenly blasting in with no warning. A calm, normal entrance was best. She found Rex standing behind the small chair tucked under the room's sole desk, carefully draping the heavily dripping sweater over the back of it.

She flinched slightly at the sight. It really  _had_ been soaked. It looked like it had gotten into a fight with a Water Blade, lost, demanded a rematch, lost again, then repeated this process a few dozen more times. Mythra wasn't going to like this. At all.

She shook her head, refocusing on the task at hand. She advanced swiftly, but did her best to keep her steps light as she approached Rex from behind. He seemed oblivious to her presence, frowning at the drenched rag in front of him. He was probably thinking about what Mythra would say as well. Frightening thoughts, certainly, but the perfect cover for Pyra to move in undetected.

She was directly behind him. Pyra wordlessly slid her arms around Rex from behind, gently pulling him towards her as he gasped in surprise. The moment she felt his body pressing against hers, she tightened the embrace, holding him as close to her as she could.

A hand ran upwards, towards his chest, resting on the center. Over his heart. Where his half of their Core Crystal had once been, now gone with no trace. She could feel his rapid heartbeat reverberating through her hand, through the rest of her body. He squirmed and wriggled slightly in her arms.

He was clearly flustered from the suddenness of her actions. He hadn't even known she was there, after all. As much as Pyra found his nervousness oddly adorable, she really just wanted him to feel comfortable around her. She lowered her head, bringing her mouth up against his ear.

"Rex," she whispered softly, "Relax. It's me."

His heartbeat slowed a little, his fidgeting lessening. His hand rose up, clasping the one Pyra had placed on his chest.

"S-sorry, Pyra, you just...surprised me, is all."

"No, I'm sorry. I...should've knocked first."

Rex's tensed muscles relaxed as he sank backwards into her embrace, his eyes closing in contentment. A blush crept over Pyra's face as she lowered her head further, nuzzling the back of his neck. They remained this way for a while, content to quietly enjoy the other's company. Eventually Pyra lifted her head slightly to speak again.

"Rex?"

"Hm?"

"Do you, um...like how this feels?"

"Huh?" Rex tilted his head in confusion, the side of his head brushing against her arm. Finding this to be quite agreeable, he readjusted his neck slightly to properly nestle against her. He didn't really get the question, though. This was hardly the first time they'd hugged. That alone should've told her how he felt about it. Maybe she needed to hear him say it, though.

"I mean...yeah? This is...nice. You're...really soft. And warm. Why?"

Pyra's breath hitched for a brief moment. There it was. The key word. "Warm." Now it was her turn to tense up, her arms becoming stiffer around Rex. No choice now. She had to put it to him.

"I-it's just, um...you can't really wear that sweater anymore, can you? So, I...was wondering if, when you were cold, you wanted...well, me. To keep you warm. Like this."

"...Really? If you're comfortable with it, sure. To be honest, I kinda wanted to ask you, but...I thought you didn't like doing this for people. I don't wanna force you if you don't like it," Rex said, using his other hand to stroke her right arm reassuringly. Pyra felt the tension subside as quickly as it came. He was fine with it. Except, he thought  _she_ wasn't fine with it.

"Huh? What made you think that?" she asked.

"Well, when we came here with everyone else, Nia was getting kinda...clingy with you, right? You didn't seem too happy about it. So, I thought you just...didn't like it."

Pyra fell silent as she thought about what he'd said. He'd remembered that one fairly minor incident from their journey together. He'd remembered her obvious dislike of Nia using her as a personal heater, he'd  _remembered it,_ and decided to not even ask, to not even risk  _that much_ discomfort for her. She knew Rex was  _just the nicest boy who ever lived_ , but he still sometimes took her off guard.

Slowly, she loosened her arms and shifted them towards Rex's shoulders, gently spinning him round to face her. She carefully cupped his face with her right hand, stroking his steadily reddening cheek. An affectionate smile formed on her lips.

"Rex, that's...thank you. For being so considerate. But...It's fine. Really."

"...You're sure?" he asked, his own hand reaching towards her face to mirror hers. Pyra nodded slowly, leaning into his touch slightly.

"Of course it's fine. You've got, um...special boyfriend privileges," she said, laughing self-consciously at this arbitrary new rule. Rex smiled gently as he looked up at her, his eyes shimmering with complete adoration.

"Is this one of them?" he said, leaning up and bringing their lips together. Pyra's eyes widened in shock, then slowly drifted closed as they both deepened the kiss. Their free arms both fumbled blindly for the other's waist. They eventually found one another and pulled each other in closer. The kiss continued for a few more seconds before they broke off.

"...Yes. It is," Pyra said with another laugh, prompting Rex to laugh along with her.

After a moment's silence, they slid their arms around the other's back and brought themselves together, settling into a tight cuddle. Pyra rested her chin on the top of Rex's head with a quiet sigh. Rex nuzzled against her shoulder, relishing the feeling of her warmth spreading through his body.

"I love you, Rex," Pyra whispered, stroking his hair.

"Me, too. I love you, Pyra," he answered, equally quietly.

Neither of them particularly wanted this to end any time soon.

A few minutes later, they accepted that it probably had to end, for practical purposes.

"We should...probably head back down," Pyra said quietly. Her arms began to move off of Rex's back.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rex said, his arms remaining still. He wasn't letting go of her. "Um, Pyra?"

"Yes?"

"Can we...stay like this? When we go down?" he asked, looking up at her pleadingly. Pyra bit her lip and fought down the urge to start frantically kissing him for being Too Cute. It was too much for her heart to handle.

Pyra's arms wrapped back around him again, holding him close.

"Of course we can."

She gestured towards the door with her head, lifting her foot. Rex nodded and lifted his own. As Driver and Blade, they awkwardly crab-walked towards the door without compromising the cuddle. It was too important. The stairs were going to prove challenging, but it was  _too important._

Throughout the rest of their stay, Rex and Pyra spent the maximum possible time huddled together for warmth. Both of them thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Unfortunately, within the bliss, they forgot to take Mythra's sweater back home with them. She did not murder them, but she did call them a pair of cuddly assholes and threw a cushion each at their heads.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm incredibly sorry if this vile work actually made your teeth rot from the sugary fluff contained within. As always, if you feel I got some aspect of the characterization terribly wrong, or, well, anything wrong, feel free to point it out to me. I produce nought but shipping fluff trash, but I want it to be the best trash it can be.


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